Some of you may have seen my request in comp.home.automation before but I've refined it a little bit. I've been using x10 stuff for a while but mostly lamp modules and cameras. I'm interested now in automating my pool. I want to take the DIY approach but only to a certain level. There are so many products and so much info that I'm hoping you good folks can steer me in the right direction and recommend devices that I can use, I plan on doing a custom vb app to support this. I'm not too much of a hardware or driver guy so api style or activex interfaces are for me with pre-packaged specific function hardware devices.
Heres the stuff I think I'll need:
* Controller that supports bi-directional (polling) info from addressed devices, mostly humidity and temp sensors but also security devices. I need 2 water temp sensors to be installed in the pvc pipes, 1 room temp sensor and 1 humidty sensor.
* Controls with actual 120/240 volt output for direct connection of filter(1.5 hp), dimmable lighting (1000 watts), 24vac relays for direct connection to oil boiler zone controls (simulate a thermostat turning on/off), exhaust fan/damper control and low voltage for low voltage lighting as well as several 110 accessory outlets/relays. I want to avoid appliance and lamp modules and would like something that could be panel mountable or relay based with each relay/breaker/outlet being controllable by x-10 address. I'd also like to be able to poll devices to make sure that they've turned on or off.
* Mountable or hand held remotes (I want the pc to get the remote button presses and turn devices on of off by code and not have the remotes talk directly to devices (different house code ??)
I think homeseer would be able to handle most if not all of my needs but I want a custom interface so the wife and kids can click and control the filter, heater or lights without concern of them getting confused. I also want to add a camera output or two to the interface so I can actually see things happening when I'm sitting on my fat *** in front of the pc or remotely through web or terminal server.
I do have a budget and will have an electrician help with any line voltage devices. I have some of the stuff I need but I'm not sure if my cm-11a will handle bi-directional data or polling so thinking I might need something with a little more processing power.
I think there's a hole in my design where if i turn on a heater or pump and my pc or communiction dies then these devices will continue to run. So I'll probably have to add some type of overheat or total system shutdown device.
I've looked at pool control systems and although they are nice, they don't offer the flexibility that I need like tracking how long a temp change takes, or detecting motion to turn on lights so I'm going more the diy route.
I think my three biggest concerns are which controller, which temp sensors and which panel with relays.
Thanks for any help,
Mark
Heres the stuff I think I'll need:
* Controller that supports bi-directional (polling) info from addressed devices, mostly humidity and temp sensors but also security devices. I need 2 water temp sensors to be installed in the pvc pipes, 1 room temp sensor and 1 humidty sensor.
* Controls with actual 120/240 volt output for direct connection of filter(1.5 hp), dimmable lighting (1000 watts), 24vac relays for direct connection to oil boiler zone controls (simulate a thermostat turning on/off), exhaust fan/damper control and low voltage for low voltage lighting as well as several 110 accessory outlets/relays. I want to avoid appliance and lamp modules and would like something that could be panel mountable or relay based with each relay/breaker/outlet being controllable by x-10 address. I'd also like to be able to poll devices to make sure that they've turned on or off.
* Mountable or hand held remotes (I want the pc to get the remote button presses and turn devices on of off by code and not have the remotes talk directly to devices (different house code ??)
I think homeseer would be able to handle most if not all of my needs but I want a custom interface so the wife and kids can click and control the filter, heater or lights without concern of them getting confused. I also want to add a camera output or two to the interface so I can actually see things happening when I'm sitting on my fat *** in front of the pc or remotely through web or terminal server.
I do have a budget and will have an electrician help with any line voltage devices. I have some of the stuff I need but I'm not sure if my cm-11a will handle bi-directional data or polling so thinking I might need something with a little more processing power.
I think there's a hole in my design where if i turn on a heater or pump and my pc or communiction dies then these devices will continue to run. So I'll probably have to add some type of overheat or total system shutdown device.
I've looked at pool control systems and although they are nice, they don't offer the flexibility that I need like tracking how long a temp change takes, or detecting motion to turn on lights so I'm going more the diy route.
I think my three biggest concerns are which controller, which temp sensors and which panel with relays.
Thanks for any help,
Mark
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